Tuesday, November 15, 2005

The journey within

"The human mind is not capable of grasping the Universe. We are like a little child entering a huge library. The walls are covered to the ceilings with books in many different tongues. The child knows that someone must have written these books. It does not know who or how. It does not understand the languages in which they are written. But the child notes a definite plan in the arrangement of the books - a mysterious order which it does not comprehend, but only dimly suspects."

_Albert Einstein

Recently I had a discussion on a forum why people stop believing in God over a period of time. Most of us believe in God not necessarily because of our own experiences but because our parents told us so, our family, our community and our upbringing shape our beliefs over a period of time. By the time we are grown, we are so sure about our beliefs without even knowing why such beliefs came into being in the first place. Its because of this that we have lost the reason why we are following certain traditions. We follow them because its a rule in the house and not because of the spiritual benefits they actually provide. Many say Shlokas or perform Pooja as a routine without really enjoying the spiritual benefits they were meant for.

Seeing this their children simply start feeling there is no value to these traditions, no value to these rituals and start asking is there God?

There are atheists who are just as strong believers in "no God" but there are also those who believe in God just as strongly without knowing why. There are those in-between who try to experience God who we term as Seekers. The problem is that these Seekers want to believe in God but do not know how to get in touch with him.

The Evidence of God

There is nothing wrong in requiring evidence before accepting something, nothing wrong at all, but are we open enough to accept that the evidence when it presents itself may not be in the form that we seek? The question is do we have the mental maturity to understand the evidence when it presents itself?

For example assuming God appears before us, how do you accept this being is really God? How do you know God for example did not appear in the bus you just travelled home? What if God doesn't really look like what the pics depict him as? What if God is a she or appears in the form of an animal or plant?

How would our reaction be if someone appeared before us and told us he/she is God? I am not a christian myself, but I heard that the last time someone claimed he was God (or atleast related to him) he ended up being nailed to a cross. Lemme imagine what would happen if God came into Times Square, initially everyone would be filled with disbelief and then people would ask him to do miracles to prove himself, then people would sell TShirts and caps in his name, pluck his hair and teeth out to sell as relics and god forbid make him appear in Oprah. They would make a hollywood film "Its a God's life" starring Tom hanks (or somebody). Some would say that God is just an alien descended from outer space with superior science to perform the "miracles" and declare a holy war against the false believers. There would be a huge Media outcry for a few months and at the end of it all it would be back to normal service and we would once again forget God ever existed (unless you want him to keep appearing and disappearing on your beck and call like a Genie in a lamp). All this is even assuming that God is a Physical entity that exists outside you. All these events would take our attention away from what God is really all about.

The saying goes...

What you see is a lieWhat you hear is a lieThe truth lies in whatyou experience for yourself.

By not appearing before us, God gives us the freedom and opportunity to seek him and visualize him in whatever way we choose and not forcing one way on us. By not performing miracles he makes us take responsibilities for our own actions (so what if I don't study, there's always God). The mistake we all make is to seek him so hard outside when he is right there within you (ahambrahma) with all the answers. The question is do you really know how to look within you?

For all this you use only 8% of your brain called the Conscious. 92% of your brain is the untapped subconcious. Your spiritual aspect develops the more you tap into your subconscious and the more you dwell and meditate and rise above your consciousness with a heightened sixth sense. One way (and the best way for me) is through meditation.

If you just sit in a meditation pose for a while with eyes closed nothing is going to happen. You will get fidgety, start thinking about your stress factors or the bills you have to pay and you will see that your mind is racing and thinking of a million things even when you seem calm. When your mind is in so much turmoil, how can you connect with God? Most people can't even sit in a meditation pose and concentrate for more than 5 minutes. This is because your brain is in "active" mode or the brain wave patterns are in hyper gear. The other mode is your sleep patterns which are also of no use in this discussion. You need to achieve a state between conciousness and unconsciousness, a state between active and asleep or the "alpha" state of brain wave patterns as it is called Scientifically or the "Samadhi" state as it is known spiritually for your meditation session to be fruitful. (Search the net yourself or look up your science library for more info on the alpha state). In this state you will find that your mind is clear and empty like a baby when its born and you will suddenly feel loose and free not attached to your body. Its in this state that your spiritual aspect and sixth sense is in the maximum presence and slowly you will find yourself concentrating more and more and going deeper and deeper within yourself.

There is no hocus pocus or mumbo jumbo or crystal ball or equipment that is needed, all that is required is you. If needed, learn from a yoga master or doctor how to enter the alpha state and then proceed to explore yourself, not guided by anyone else. With time you will see that you become a deeper and more insightful person and as time goes on you will learn more about yourself, answers to your questions will come flooding to you. You will start sensing the presence of God in the small things in life. The people around you will see you become a wise, calm and mature person and the people who sit next to you will feel peaceful and relaxed in your presence. Then one day when you are mature enough to understand, what you seek will be revealed to you in a unique way which can be only understood by you.

Always remember, if ever you feel God is not there with you,it really means you are not there with God.